Oleg Zabluda's blog
Monday, October 31, 2016
 
Fact-Checking Family Folklore With DNA Tests
Fact-Checking Family Folklore With DNA Tests
"""
I am descended, at least partially, from liars.
[...]
My father, a corporate lawyer, exalted his Scottish heritage. [...] We went with family members to visit the “homeland,” seeing Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Loch Ness. We heard bagpipers perform at the old Chicago Stadium. He gave me, his first son, the name Cameron, stamping me a Scot as clearly as if he had tattooed plaid on my forehead. I wore a kilt at the rehearsal dinner for my wedding.

My mother had her family’s story about her great-great-grandmother, a native woman from New Brunswick, Canada. [...] I retold the story of supposed Indian ancestors to friends, my wife and later my children.

My parents both died last year. And now that they are gone, I have discovered their fiercely-held family narratives, the subject of decades of verbal sparring and bickering, were largely false.
[...]
My genetic makeup is about 33% from England and Scotland and 15% from Scandinavia, [...] 21% of my code was Irish, 14% was European Jewish and 11% was Eastern European.
[...]
My father hated Notre Dame, but judging by my results he could have been one-quarter to one-half Irish. He spoke dismissively of people from Eastern Europe, but part of his genetic code likely came from that region. [...] My mother at times spoke disparagingly of Jews, yet she was married for more than a half-century to a man who probably was about a quarter Jewish. The DNA test found no evidence of any Native American genetic makeup, meaning my mother’s family story was bunk.
"""
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fact-checking-family-folklore-with-dna-tests-1475598736
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fact-checking-family-folklore-with-dna-tests-1475598736

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